radio light dont work???

I have a 98 Z-71 and a 99 S-10 and the lights to the radio on both trucks do not work. I have seen this on several Chevys with that same type am/fm/cd radio. Is there someting I can do or would it be cheaper to install an after market CD player? Also, some times in the morning when the radio is cold and every now and then in the day time, it want take a CD. It shows a Err message and spits the CD out. (error I guess). Any ideas guys....
Thanks....

Lamps in the radio may have failed. They can be replaced by disassembling the radio and soldering in new lamps.

The ERR message can indicate a dirty laser lens in the disc reader. Cleaning discs can be found to help this problem.

It's cheaper to fix it yourself, but for about $125 I got a killer Jensen including installation. here's the link to the most common problem with gm radios: http://users.adelphia.net/~bpaskevich/index_files/Radio_Lamp_repair.htm